The Rocky Road To The Perfect Chair Makeover

This perfect chair makeover took many twists and turns and yep, that's not unusual around here.

At least this dining room chair isn't hum drum anymore. I love the bright, cheerful, yellow paint color and the fabric for the seat is fun and stylish. Just wait until you see the fabric. It's a winner for sure. I wish I had bought several yards of the fabric instead of just one.

Perfect Chair Makeover

You guys know how I love color and the bold yellow paint I chose for the chair makeover is my new favorite color. The paint and fabric project was as simple as pie and just looking at the the chair makes me smile.

The dining chair was another find from My Favorite Junk Shop. I like chairs with padded seats…much more interesting to make over. And the armchairs are the coolest.

Fabric seat chairs are fun because I get to choose a pretty paint color and a coordinating fabric for the seat. In this case the fabric came first and then I selected a paint color to match the fabric.

Chairs with fabric seats are the most dramatic makeovers for the money. The projects are inexpensive but WOW, what a change. And changing out the fabric on a chair seat like this one is super easy.

This is yet another project where the plan went in the wind. If you've been around here very long you know this happens often with me and my projects.

I’ve had those vintage curtains you see in the photo on the left for a long time…love the print and the color. (I'm a 70's girl in case you can't tell.) So the plan was to use this fabric for the seat.

I painted the chair brown to coordinate with the fabric but the brown wasn’t bold enough. Then I painted the chair a dull red/orange color you see in the next photo…boring!

I often change plans mid-stream or after the fact. Seldom do I have to change plans three times. That's the thing about paint.....if you don't like it.....redo it......not much expense involved, just a bit more time.

On to plan C (could be D)….Bright, Bold, In-Your-Face Yellow. I love it. I spent several hours on Saturday night painting the chair those two different ugly colors using a paint brush. Painting dining room chairs with a paint brush is a pain. All those spindles, ins and outs, the legs, etc. are time consuming.

For the bold yellow color paint I hooked up the HomeRight Finish Max for the job. Quick and Easy!

The chair looks so much better already. You can't help but smile at that sunny yellow color.

This is the fabric that inspired plan C (D?). I’ve had this fabric for a long time. I found it at a local fabric store while shopping for something else….can’t remember what.

I loved the print, so I bought a yard of fabric for whatever. Whatever is here. I found the fabric online a short time after working on this project but it is no longer available.

It’s a simple job to re-cover the chair seat. Turn the chair upside down and remove the four screws holding the seat to the chair frame. Cut a piece of fabric large enough to cover the seat and staple to the bottom.

One tip, when I use a patterned fabric I always try to place the design in the most pleasing way. In this case I chose to cut the fabric so the Cockatiel is slightly off center. (You can read a step by step tutorial from an earlier project here.....How To Re-Cover A Chair Seat.)

Just re-attach the seat to the chair once the new fabric is stapled to the seat.

I had the paint mixed at Home Depot. It is Behr latex paint and primer all-in-one in a flat finish. Can you tell the difference in the finish ( I usually use satin or semi-gloss) and do you like it?

I took the fabric to the store and selected a color just a tad darker than the yellow in the fabric. I forgot the name of the color but if anyone is interested I can track it down for you. (just looked it up, paint color Twenty Carat by Behr)

The yellow, chippy, metal box is one of my favorite things. It resides on the bookcase in the den. Special appearance here for the photo shoot.

I don't have any gray in my home decor but I sure love the gray cockatiel. 

I made a video of a recent chair project where I used the paint sprayer to do the job. Watch it below....

How To Use A Paint Sprayer

Yellow is one color I can never get enough of. I have a lot of yellow decor in our family room and I plant yellow flowers in the Spring and showcase yellow in a lot of my porch decor.

I loved the fabric so much I used it again on the vintage stool above. See how that project turned out here.....Vintage Stool Paint and Fabric Makeover.

And guess what else I did with the fabric. Yep, I framed it or maybe I should say I wrapped the fabric around a canvas square and it made really pretty wall art to match the chair. See that project here......Pretty Fabric Wall Decor.

What do you think of the new look? Is this the perfect chair makeover? How do you like the fabric and is the yellow paint too bold or just right? Leave a note if you have time please.

Thanks for being here and have a great day, Kathy

Kathy Owen

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Author: Kathy Owen
Kathy Owen is the founder of the home decor blog Petticoat Junktion where she shares tutorials on painting furniture and upcycling thrifty finds into unique home décor. Her DIY projects have been featured on the Home Depot Blog, Plaid Crafts, Behr Designer Series, and in numerous magazines. Kathy’s newest website is HappyHomeDIY.com